World-Breaker
The World-Breaker was the name given to an ancient, powerful artifact from the Old Age. It was originally created by powerful technomancers to destroy life living on the planet, bringing about the End of All Things. At some point, the device was separated into four pieces, its parts buried in locations throuought the realm. This was likely done deliberately, by interested parties who were attempting to prevent the parts from being reunited and the relic's purpose realized. Fully assembled, the World-Breaker was a tall, cylindrical, metallic object with a pointed tip, theoretically capable of self-propulsion. The Quest for the World-Breaker The first piece of the World-Breaker was discovered by Dwarves, excavating deep into the Earth with their drilling machine. They sold the piece to Mirabel Miller, who offered them a chunk of diamondite in exchange and began a search for the remaining pieces. Mirabel had read in her sister Christabel's journal that the Moon was suffering from an erratic orbit and would crash into the Earth, so it was Mirabel's plan to launch the weapon and destroy the Moon. At some point, the moths became aware of the existence of the World-Breaker as well. High Priestess Axziss recognized what the device was capable of, and planned to detonate the device and allow its dark magic to transform the Greater Races, just as had happened once before. The moths began burning towns to the ground and using dragon beetles to dig through the rubble. After teaming up with "Four" Wheeler, Mirabel was successful in recovering the remaining pieces. The device was assembled on the deck of Xanthippe, but the ship was taken over by moths who had stowed away on board. The wizard Tha'aron attempted to destroy the device with a magical lighting bolt, but this triggered the device's launch sequence. Lacking adequate fuel to propel itself into the sky, the device would inevitably explode, destroying Torlynn and everyone present. The butterfly princess Mariposa and the moth warrior Syxx carried the device into the sky. Syxx single handedly completed its ascent into the upper atmosphere, where the device detonated. The Curse of the Fate Shifter The World-Breaker was of sufficient gravitas that Talla Unica feared the presence of another World-Breaker when experiencing an earthquake in the village of Frontwater. When Four discovered moths skulking through the human village of Guttersworth, he initialy suspected they might be assembling the parts to a second World-Breaker. Trivia One of the alternate names by which the World-Breaker is known, according to Tha'aron, is the Terra Mortis, or the Earth Killer. The four places where pieces of the World-Breaker were found were Stonekeep (the Dwarves); the Darklands (the pixie clan); Copycat Rock; and Torlynn Castle. A device similar to the World-Breaker is said to have created the Great Divide. Behind the Scenes An early name considered by the author for the World-Breaker was the "World-Ender." Though it is not directly revealed in the story, the World-Breaker is in fact an ancient nuclear missile. It separates into four pieces in the same way that the stages of a rocket separate after launching into space. The nuclear radiation from a device similar to the World-Breaker may have been responsible for causing the mutations that transformed members of the Greater Races into their current forms. In The Quest for the World-Breaker, Syxx made a reference to the moths having found a fifth piece, possibly explaining why the World-Breaker didn't work correctly when the other four parts were assembled together. Category:Tools Category:Objects Category:Technology Category:Old Age Artifacts Category:Plot Devices